Norovirus and severe chronic gastroenteritis in pediatric stem cell transplantation: the plot thickens.

摘要

Noroviruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks. The impact of norovi-rus in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients is explored in this issue of Pediatric Transplantation by Saif et al. (1). Noroviruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks and responsible for sporadic cases in all age groups (2, 3). After a short incubation period, patients develop vomiting and non-bloody diarrhea. The symptoms usually resolve in 24-72 h in immunocompetent hosts with viral shedding peaking 1-3 days after-illness onset (3). However, prolonged symptomatic illness and viral shedding may occur in children, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients (4-7). In addition, norovirus has been implicated as a cause of significant morbidity related to chronic gastroenteritis in solid organ transplantation recipients (8-12).